Questioning the police investigation into the Oct 2 explosion in West Bengal's Burdwan district in which two suspected militants were killed, the CPI-M Monday demanded the probe be handed over to the NIA.Claiming that the house in Khagragarh where the explosion occurred was owned by a worker of the ruling Trinamool Congress, the Communist Party of India Marxist asserted there were grounds to believe the involvement of extremist elements in the case."The way in which the Burdwan Superintendent of Police and other state police officials have dealt with the incident has raised doubts and questions," the party said in a statement."It is essential, therefore, that the investigation into the incident be handed over to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) as this concerns the country's security. No effort should be spared to uncover the forces behind the bomb-making centre," it added.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) too has joined the clamour for an NIA probe.Accusing the state police of destroying crucial evidence, BJP national secretary Siddharth Nath Singh wondered why the Mamata Banerjee-led state government was not handing over the probe to the NIA."The delay is indicative of attempts that are being made to cover up the issue. We, therefore, demand that the investigation be handed over to the NIA," Singh said in New Delhi.Speaking in the same vein, state BJP president Rahul Sinha too hit out at the Trinamool, accusing it of inks with Bangladeshi fundamentalist outfit Jamaat-e-Islami.
"The blast has established that the Trinamool has links with terror outfits and has been facilitating the infiltration of Bangladeshi fundamentalist group like the Jamaat. The Trinamool is a threat to the security of both Bengal as well of the nation," Sinha said here.Meanwhile, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), which is probing the case, has apprehended Hafeez Mollah, a suspect in the blast, taking the total number of arrests in the case to three.Hafeez, who was arrested from the district, was remanded in 12-day CID custody by a court. Police Sunday secured the custody of Rajira Bibi, wife of Shakil Ahmed who was killed in the blast, and Amina Bibi, wife of Hasan Saheb who was injured.